Stone of Beauteous Youth
by dottydisney
Summary: A four-part story commissioned by retro mania. Ariel's age is accidentally reversed by a magical stone, so it is up to her sisters to save her before Triton finds out!
1. Chapter 1

**a/n: Hey guys! So I really have no excuse for leaving this account barren for so long other than my own horrifying lack of organization skills. So I apologize for that! I do have a schedule now, so updates should be constant and more regular. Anywho, this story is a four part commission for the wonderful retro mania for his Wubbulous World of Walt Disney series. It was an honor to write this for you, so I hope it lives up to your expectations! Well, thanks for listening to my rambling, it's time for the good part - the story! Enjoy!**

* * *

In the very depths of the sea was the city of Atlantica. A city of unrivaled beauty, strength, and culture, it was the pinnacle of underwater living. Adding to its beauty were seven princesses – the daughters of King Triton. Though no citizen of Atlantica dared to question their beauty, the girls themselves had no problem of questioning it themselves, and sometimes this leads to more trouble than it was worth...

* * *

Adella took one last glance in the mirror, putting a loose hair back into place as she did so. Tonight was her big night – her first ever date! She thanked her lucky starfish that her father was away at a conference, or else she'd never be able to go. She raised a perfectly manicured hand to the string of pearls she wore around her neck and frowned. She had pearls in her hair too… Was she going overboard?

She turned to Alana, the fashion guru of the sisters. "Can I have your opinion?"

"Of course," Alana responded, looking up from her expertly painted nails.

"Am I wearing too many pearls?"

Alana looked her over with a critical eye. Alana could spot an imperfection in an outfit from a mile away, and she'd never been wrong in fixing it. She swam over to the younger sister, getting a closer look at the ensemble. Soon afterward, she pulled the pearls from her neck and replaced it with a black choker with an orange shell in the center.

"There we go, that's much better." Alana swam back to look over her handiwork.

Adella looked in the mirror again, and a wide smile broke out on her face. "It's perfect!"

"Hey, Adella!" Ariel swam through the doorway. "That guy's here to pick you up."

"Good luck," Alana said with a warm smile.

Adella took a deep breath, then made her way to the doorway.

"Have fun!" Ariel chirped. Adella gave her a grateful smile, then swam out to her meet her date.

* * *

The evening had turned to night, and the six remaining sisters had gathered in the living room to hang out for the night. Ariel was showing the newest item in her thingamabob collection to Adrina, who was already thinking of ways to use it for a prank. Arista and Aquata were fighting (again) about whether Arista had taken Aquata's sapphire earrings or not, neither of them realizing that they both owned a pair those same earrings. Alana was adding the last touches to her nail art, and Attina was looking herself over in the mirror.

Being the eldest of the seven sisters, Attina was the heir to the throne. This meant that she was going to need to find a husband – and soon. But in all her life no one had ever shown any interest in her, let alone wanted to be her boyfriend.

She often wondered why this was. Did she have a dislikeable personality? Did she get out enough? But the one thing that plagued her the most was the concern that she was getting too old. She knew it was strange to be 22 and have never had a boyfriend, but would her age hamper any future efforts?

With a frustrated sigh, she collapsed on the bed beside Alana. Always the one to be concerned, Alana abandoned her nail art to ask what ailed her sister.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Am I too old for a boyfriend?"

"No, I don't think so." Alana paused in contemplative silence. "You know, I heard that people older than you get together every day."

"Yeah, but those people aren't heir to the throne of Atlantica…"

"Is that what this is about? Responsibility?"

Attina nodded and Alana frowned.

Aquata had long since finished her argument with Arista, and couldn't help but overhear Attina's woes. Deciding she wanted to give her two cents, she floated over to her older sisters.

"I think I have something that can help you, Attina."

Perking up, Attina gave her attention to the brunette. "Go on."

"Well, I remember ages ago I found this stone that could apparently reverse aging. Maybe that could help?" Aquata suggested.

Alana opened her mouth to speak, but Attina beat her to it. "That's perfect! Do you remember where you put it?"

Aquata thought back to when she got the stone. It was a long time ago now, who knows where she put it… Perhaps she'd just have to turn the castle upside down…

"I think I know the one you're talking about." Apparently, Ariel had also overheard the conversation, and it seemed that Arista and Adrina had gained an interest too.

"You do?" Aquata inquired.

"Yeah. If it's the one I'm thinking about, I think you gave it do me for my thingamabob collection. We could try looking there," she suggested.

"Sure!" Aquata nodded. "We'll go look for it, then bring it back for you to use, Attina."

"We'll be really quick, promise!" Ariel twittered.

With that, they were out of the room like a flash. As the sisters chattered excitedly among themselves while they waited for Aquata and Ariel's return, Alana gave a disheartened sigh.

No one seemed to realize how terrible this idea was…

* * *

"Be careful!" Ariel cried as Aquata chucked a silver goblet on the ground. The red head managed to catch it before it landed – she couldn't risk her precious thingamabobs being damaged.

"Any clue where you put it?" Aquata asked as she gazed around the room.

The girls had been at it for a few minutes now, rooting through Ariel's endless clutter to try and find the stone. Sure, they'd found other stones, but not the one Aquata remembered. Ariel could tell Aquata was getting frustrated, and that was not something she wanted.

"I could try looking up the very top. I've got a lot of old stuff up there," she suggested, and Aquata gave an enthusiastic nod.

Ariel rose to the top of the room, where her oldest thingamabobs lay. Some had rusted thanks to exposure to the water, and Ariel cringed as a few bugs crawled through the cracks in some of the china. She decided she needed to clean up sometime soon… She tentatively reached into the clutter, feeling around for a stone.

Her fingers brushed against something cold, round, and smooth. Gripping onto it, she pulled it out from the depths of the collection. When she opened up her hand, she revealed a deep purple stone with light purple streaks across its surface. Maybe this was it? She swam down to confirm it with Aquata.

"Is this the one?" she asked, showing the smooth stone to her sister.

Aquata's face lit up. "Yes! This is the one!"

The two girls started laughing together, wide smiles breaking out on their faces. Now all they had to do was bring it to Attina and use it on her, then she'd be as young as she wanted! But that begged the question on how the stone even worked…

"Uh, Aquata?" she asked, catching her sister's attention.

"Huh?"

"How does it actually work?" Ariel looked over the stone trying to find anything that could lead to it activating.

Aquata furrowed her brow, digging through her memories to try and remember how the stone worked. It didn't need to be in a certain place… It didn't need to be broken open… Suddenly the solution occurred.

"Oh! I remember now! You need to say this incantation thingy," she told Ariel excitedly.

"Yeah? What is it?" Ariel swam closer to her sister.

"Uh… Let me think… _Stone of beauteous youth, hide my age's truth_ … I think that was it."

As Aquata finished the incantation, the stone began to glow a brilliant, vibrant purple. The sisters watched the stone with wide eyes as it started to vibrate and shake in Ariel's hand. It started to warm up, and soon it was too hot to handle. Before Ariel could drop it she was enveloped in the purple light, covering her from head to fin in glowing lavender.

"Ariel!" Aquata screamed, but it was too late for her to do anything. The light had completely surrounded her, and then she started to… shrink?

"Oh no…" Aquata murmured under her breath as she realized just what was going on.

The light got brighter and brighter, and Ariel got smaller and smaller until the light dispersed with a loud pop. The purple light filled the room, the force of it shoving all of Ariel's thingamabobs to the walls. The light started to fade, and soon the room looked as if nothing had happened. Save for the broken thingamabobs and the child on the floor.

But it wasn't just any child – it was Ariel!

"Crap!" Aquata muttered to herself, then the full panic of what she'd done set in.

How in the seven seas was she going to explain this to Attina? To Triton? To the world? Even if she did tell someone, she still had the responsibility to fix it. Maybe she could hide Ariel from everyone until she figured out what to do… But someone would find her eventually, Arista was always snooping around her room… She didn't want to go it alone…

She had no choice but to tell Attina.

Aquata glanced over to Ariel. She was sleeping peacefully, so hopefully Aquata could make it to Attina in time before she woke up and started to panic. Composing herself, Aquata darted from the room just as Ariel started to wake up.

* * *

"What's taking them so long?" Adrina complained.

"They probably can't find it," Arista suggested.

"Maybe I should go check on them?" Alana wondered, though she'd be going to discourage them rather than help them find the stone.

Suddenly the door banged open revealing Aquata, looking disheveled and panicked. Attina's eyes went wide, and she swam over to Aquata as quickly as she could.

"Did something happen? Where's Ariel?" she asked, checking Aquata for any injuries.

Aquata shook her head. "No… We found the stone and… and we used it… and…" She suddenly burst into tears.

Attina pulled her sister into a tight hug, though her mind was racing with all the possibilities of what happened. A thought popped into her head that made her arms fall from Aquata's side, and she looked into her sister's eyes.

"Aquata?"

"Yes?"

"Did you use the stone on Ariel?"

Aquata hesitated, then her face fell and she nodded. Attina's face went bright red. She pushed past Aquata and speeded down the hall to Ariel's thingamabob room, keeping her eye out for her vivid red hair.

When she made it to the collection room, however, there was no sign of her youngest sister. After searching through all the shelves she left the room and looked around there. Her heart dropped when she saw an open window.

 _Ariel's gone…_

She stifled a scream, but she could feel the tears flowing anyway. If the stone had worked on her as Aquata said, then Ariel was just a young child lost in the depths of Atlantica. Who knows what could happen to her…

She needed to compose herself, she needed to figure out what to do. A plan started to formulate in her otherwise frazzled mind, and since it was the best thing she could think of she decided to run with it.

After taking a deep breath she swam back to the living room where the other girls were waiting.

"Is she ok?" Alana asked the moment Attina floated into the room.

Attina shook her head. "She's gone."

Aquata made a noise somewhere between blubbering and screaming, and the other sisters chattered amongst themselves in panic.

"What are we gonna tell daddy?" Adrina asked, looking like she might cry herself.

"What we need to do is keep a clear head," Attina announced, and her sisters looked at her like she was crazy. "I have a plan, so don't look at me like that. Alana, Arista, Adrina, you three are in charge of finding Ariel before dad gets home. Aquata, you and I are going to find out how to fix this since we were both responsible for this whole mess. Alright?"

"Alright." The sisters nodded in unison.

Alana, Arista, and Adrina swam out of the room and out into the sea, leaving Attina and Aquata alone together. Attina was determined to fix this, so she decided to start from the very beginning.

But first of all, she needed Aquata to stop bawling.

"Hey, Aquata. If this is going to work you need to calm down, ok?"

Aquata wiped her eyes and nodded. "Mhmm."

"Good. Ok, so can you tell me where you got that stupid stone in the first place?" she asked when Aquata had calmed down.

"Well, it was a really long time ago…


	2. Chapter 2

_It was gone._

 _Aquata dug through her jewellery box for what felt like the fiftieth time that day, searching for the one necklace she never wanted to lose. Rooting through delicate coral bracelets, tough seaweed chokers, and pearl rings of every colour, she still couldn't find it._

 _She promised herself that she wouldn't cry about losing it – everything turned up eventually – but that promise was getting harder and harder to keep. She tried her hardest to hold back tears, but despite her best efforts they flowed, salty and warm. They soon melded with the sea water around her, gone as soon as they arrived._

 _Aquata sank down to the floor of her room, covering her eyes with her hands, and sobbed. Of all the things to have lost… She would never forgive herself._

 _A knock at the door jolted her out of her sadness. Composing herself as best she could, she called: "Come in."_

 _The door was pushed open to reveal Arista, positioned oddly with one hand behind her back. Suspicious, Aquata raised one eyebrow._

" _Can I help you?" She still sounded somewhat nasal from the crying._

 _Arista scratched the back of her head. "Well, Alana said that you'd lost your necklace…"_

 _Aquata could see where this is going. Her face flushing beet red, she floated up to Arista's level and looked at her younger sister straight in the eyes. She remembered Arista's arm behind her back, and her face went from red to purple._

" _Arista…" she growled, "Did you take my necklace?_ Mother's _necklace?"_

 _Biting her lip, Arista nodded and held out the hand that used to be behind her back. In her palm sat the necklace, a beautiful long string of pearls and gold, with seven charms positioned between the creamy white orbs. Aquata snatched it out of Arista's hand, clutching it so tightly the charms dug into her palm._

" _Why did you take this?" Aquata's gaze didn't falter._

 _Arista shrugged and fiddled with her ponytail. "You said I could borrow something from your jewellery box… I liked that one-"_

" _That was mothers!" Arista screamed, cutting of Arista. "Why in the seven seas did you think it was ok to take mothers necklace! You idiot!"_

 _Arista backed away, frightened of the side of Aquata she'd awakened. She'd never seen her sister so mad before…_

" _I'm sorry Aquata, really-"_

" _GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"_

 _Figuring it wouldn't be a good idea to argue, Arista bolted, leaving Aquata in a seething, mad rage. She pushed the door shut once Arista left, and swam back to the jewellery box. Placing the necklace gently in its compartment, she felt the tears coming back into her eyes. Shutting the box, she turned to gaze out of the window. She couldn't stand to be in the palace while Arista was still there – she needed to be alone. So Aquata swam through the window into the open ocean and kept going until Atlantica was out of sight._

* * *

 _She didn't intend to go that far, not really. Aquata had found herself swimming further and further away from Atlantica until she reached the point where her home was no longer in sight. Now she was surrounded by seaweed and rocks formed in tall, jagged spires. The water was dark, and it was eerily quiet._

 _Aquata had got herself lost while trying to find her way home, and now she wasn't sure if she'd ever seen Atlantica again… It was stupid of her to leave home in such a fluster – it was just a necklace after all. She really didn't have to blow up at Arista like that…_

 _She could be so stupid sometimes._

 _She sat down on one of the shorter spires. Maybe if she stayed still they would have a better chance of finding her? But she couldn't sleep out here… That would be too frightening._

 _The rustling of seaweed caught her attention. Whipping her head around, she couldn't see any signs of life other than herself. But then she heard it again, and then again but in a different place._

" _Who's there?" she called, but there was no answer. Instead, two dark shadows emerged from the murky seaweed. Biting her lip, Aquata started to shift away._

 _The shadows started to become more defined. They were long, thin, and scaly. They certainly weren't mermaids, and if they were then something had gone terribly wrong. They weren't mermaids – they were eels._

 _They swam towards her and started to circle her. They didn't seem to want to harm her… Or did they? Were they just stalling?_

" _What do you want?" she cried, though she knew they wouldn't reply._

 _One of them swam closer and brushed up against her, jolting her as it did. She gave a short sharp gasp, then rubbed the place where it had jolted her. The other one started pushing her to the right – they wanted her to go with them! To their owners, maybe._

 _Deciding that unknown people were better than no people at all, Aquata followed them. After a reasonably short swim through the thickest part of the seaweed forest, they arrived at a cave. Light was coming from inside it, but somehow it didn't look warm or inviting. It looked somewhat eerie… But she followed the eels into the cave anyway. It took her by surprise when she heard a voice._

" _Flotsam? Jetsam? Back so soon?"_

 _The eels – Flotsam and Jetsam, she assumed – led her to the depths of the cave where the light and the voice was coming from. When they finally reached their destination, the owner of the voice was revealed._

 _She was a rotund woman, with short white hair styled in a point. She had lavender skin and too much makeup covering it, and her bottom half wasn't home to a tail. It was home to a mass of inky black tentacles, their suckers firmly stuck to the rock she was sitting on. Her eyes lit up when she saw Aquata, and she smiled a sneer like smile._

" _Well, hello," she said, unsticking her tentacles and floating over to Aquata, "What have we here…"_

" _M-My name's Aquata," she told her, feeling uneasy as the woman circled her._

 _The woman dismissed Flotsam and Jetsam with a wave of her stubby purple hand, then turned her attention back to Aquata. "What brings a lovely thing like you to these parts?"_

" _I got lost," Aquata explained, "Then your eels found me, so here I am."_

" _How unfortunate for you… Tell me, girl, where do you come from?" the woman's question wasn't something she was quite willing to answer. She couldn't tell a perfect stranger where she lived! Especially a stranger that lived in a dank cave in the middle of nowhere…_

" _I don't think I should tell you," Aquata murmured, backing away to the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a jolt of electricity to her tail made her scream and dart back into the cave. Flotsam (or was it Jetsam?) was guarding the entrance to the cave._

" _I said…" She swam up to Aquata's face, staring her down. "Where do you live?"_

 _Aquata swallowed the lump in her throat. "A-A-Atlantica…"_

 _The woman smiled, revealing a wide mouth full of startlingly white teeth. "I thought you might be, you have the same look as Triton did at that age."_

" _Triton?" Aquata asked, recognising her father's name. "How do you know my father? Who are you?"_

 _The lavender-skinned woman dismissed the subject with a wave of her hand. "We don't need to get into those details, darling."_

" _I think we do." Aquata folded her arms and pouted._

" _Well, you're wrong." The woman floated back to her previous spot and then beckoned Aquata to sit with her. Reluctantly, Aquata did what she was told._

" _What's a girl like you doing getting lost out here? Family issues?" she asked._

 _Aquata wasn't sure why she'd suddenly turned to small talk, but it was better than feeling threatened. Though that feeling was constant. But if she was as evil as she looked, then Aquata could do with some small talk._

" _I had a fight with my sister," Aquata told her, "She stole my most prized possession."_

" _Go on." The woman turned to look at her, all of a sudden interested in what she had to say._

" _It was my mother's necklace, the only thing I had left of her. I mean, she returned it, but she didn't even ask… I got madder than I should have and left. I got lost, your eels found me, and here I am."_

" _I know what it's like to have something precious stolen from you." She seemed wistful now. "A bond between daughter and mother is… Oh, Neptune, I'm getting emotional."_

 _She got up from her seat and floated into another section of the cave. Unsure whether to follow, Aquata got up and floated towards the entrance, hovering in the doorway. From what she could see in the darkened room looked like a collection of bits and bobs – not unlike Ariel's. She could see the mammoth shadow of the woman floating within, scavenging through the knick knacks._

 _Perhaps she could use this moment to escape? She was distracted after all. Aquata her head to the exit – but Flotsam and Jetsam were still there. Biting her lip, she turned her gaze back to the woman. She was emerging with something clutched in her hand. It looked like an ordinary rock in the darkness. But when the woman brought it into the light Aquata could truly appreciate its beauty._

 _The stone was deep purple in colour, striped with pale purple streaks. It was perfectly rounded, a sphere in the woman's hand. Aquata wanted to hold it – it looked so satisfying to touch._

 _The woman placed it on the rock in the middle of the room and beckoned Aquata over to it. She floated over to it and looked up to the woman, asking her what was next with her expression._

" _This is the youth stone," she told her, "It will reverse any merpersons age by ten years – but only if an incantation is said."_

" _What is it? The incantation?"_

"Stone of beauteous youth, hide my age's truth."

 _When the woman spoke the incantation the stone flickered and shook, vibrating on the rocks. But as soon as it had started it fizzled out, returning to its dormant state._

" _What happened there?" Aquata asked, poking the stone to see if it would do anything._

" _Nothing. No one was holding it, so nothing happened. You see, someone must be holding it for the spell to work," the woman explained. She picked up the stone and placed it into Aquata's hands._

" _What do you want me to do with it?" she asked, looking down at the stone._

" _You'll know when the time comes. Now go away, Flotsam and Jetsam will take you home."_

 _Aquata sent a wary glance to the eels and then looked back at the woman. The raise of her thinly plucked eyebrow indicated that she wanted nothing more to do with her. Stone in hand, she reluctantly left with the eels._

 _She couldn't wait to get back to Atlantica…_

* * *

"Aquata, you do realise who that was, don't you?" Attina asked, with her jaw dropped.

"Uh… No…" Aquata sniffled.

"That was Ursula. Y'know, the evilest sea witch in the seven seas?"

Aquata raised her hand to her mouth and gasped. The whole time that woman had been Ursula… How did she not know that? To think she'd had an artefact belonging to a sea witch for all that time!

"Well, in any case, she might have something to reverse the spell. We just need to bargain with her, that's all." Attina started pacing. "But Neptune knows what she'd want in return…"

"There's only one way to find out." Aquata glanced out the window in the direction of the seaweed forest.

"I guess we'd better get a move on then."

With that, the two sisters swam out the window to Ursula's lair with victory and determination on the mind.

* * *

"There she is!" Arista yelled.

The three sisters hurried over to the little girl with the flaming red hair, happily playing amongst the coral with the smaller fish. They couldn't be more grateful that she was ok…

"Ariel, thank Neptune!" Alana scooped her sister up in her arms. Ariel squirmed in Alana's tight grasp.

"I wanna look for thingamabobs!" she cried, trying her hardest to worm her way out of Alana's grip.

Adrina giggled. "She's kinda cute this way."

Alana frowned. "Don't get used to it!"

Ariel finally got out of Alana's hold and floated above them, yelling: "Thingamabob! Thingamabob!"

"Do you reckon we should?" Arista asked, finger on her lip in thought.

"If it'll keep her occupied I don't see the problem," Alana concluded, "As long as we keep an eye on her."

"YAAAAAY!" Ariel screamed, then darted off in the direction of another coral field.

"Ariel!" the three princesses yelled in unison, swimming after her at a great pace. They couldn't lose her _again_ …

All things considered, the thingamabob hunt was going well. They'd found several new things in the coral field, though most of it was stuff Ariel had found before. It was going so well that the older girls had become distracted by finding the best thingamabob for Ariel's collection.

So distracted in fact, that they didn't even notice Ariel swimming into shark infested waters…


	3. Chapter 3

Arista pulled a strange little trident out of a piece of coral, examining its shiny surface. "Hey! Look at this!"

Adrina and Alana swam over to their platinum-haired sister, their own arms full of trinkets and knick knacks. They compared their collections for a few minutes until Alana noticed that something wasn't right. That something was missing…

Ariel!

She looked around, dark hair swirling in the salty water. There was no sign of their sister's poof of bright red hair, and Alana started to panic. "Adrina, Arista, Ariel's gone!"

The two blondes dropped their trinkets immediately and helped Alana look for their little sister. There was still no sign of her after five minutes, and Alana was really starting to panic. If anything had happened to Ariel… She didn't know what she'd do. She'd never be able to forgive herself, and neither would her father. Or Attina, or Adella, or Aquata, or Arista, or Adrina, or Sebastian, or Flounder… No matter what she'd never be able to live it down.

"ARIEL NO!"

Adrina's yell snapped Alana out of her panic. Her sister was pointing in the direction of the murky, shark-infested water that was on the outskirts of Atlanta. With horror, Alana could see the faintest pop of red amongst the deep green water.

A pop of red surrounded by shadowy grey sharks.

"Oh my Neptune, Ariel!" Alana screamed and swam into the waters without even thinking.

She heard her sisters calling after her, but she didn't respond. Her number one priority was getting Ariel back safely – she dreaded the thought of not having her around anymore.

A shark lunged at her as she swam, and Alana only just dived out of the way. Ariel was getting closer. With a shark on her tail, Alana swam as fast as she could towards Ariel. Finally, her sister started to become more defined, though she could still feel the shark snapping at her fins. In a split second decision, she dived down to the ground and picked up a loose rock, then hurled it at the shark behind her. It careened back, giving Alana enough time to swim as fast as she could towards Ariel.

The moment she reached Ariel she grabbed her wrists and pulled her back through the dull waters.

"Sissy!" Ariel cried. She was clearly upset – it looked like she'd been crying.

Before Alana could say anything to comfort her, two sharks swam into their path. Ariel screamed, and Alana looked around frantically for two more rocks she could lob at them.

"HEY FISH FACE! GET OVER HERE!"

It was Adrina. After catching the shark's attention, she started to chuck the thingamabobs from before at them. It only got the sharks madder, but it gave Ariel and Alana enough time to make it so safety. After speeding through into the clear, warm waters of Atlantica, Alana handed Ariel over to Arista and called for Adrina to come back. Nodding, Adrina hurled one last thingamabob at the sharks and swam towards Alana. Once the two were reunited, they made it back to the palace faster than a sailfish.

Alana slammed the door behind her, then slid down against it, exhausted. Shortly after they arrived, Arista and Ariel emerged from behind one of the doorways.

"Are the sharks gone?" Arista asked.

Adrina shrugged. "Dunno." As soon as she said it there was a slam on the door, jolting Alana from her position. "Well, there's your answer!"

Ariel shrieked as the door was slammed once more, and huddled into Arista, who started to stroke her hair.

"We should probably wait awhile before we go back out," said Alana, "I'll keep a look out."

Her younger siblings nodded, and a long evening of waiting began.

* * *

"It's been an hour. I don't think they're coming back," whined a bored Adrina, who seemed to be getting more bored than the six-year-old Ariel.

"Hmm… I don't want to risk it." Alana frowned.

"I wanna go outside," Ariel moaned with a pout.

"It should be fine, Alana," said Arista, who was decidedly fed up with keeping Ariel entertained.

Alana glanced out the window once more. There was no sign of the sharks… yet. But then she wasn't sure how long Ariel would last being stuck inside for too much longer, but who knew when Attina and Aquata would be back?

"Well…" Alana hesitated. "I guess we could go out for a little bit…"

"Yay!" Ariel and Adrina cried in unison. Alana pushed the doors open, and the four sisters ventured back out into the ocean. It looked like all the sharks had returned to their former habitat, and the girls were safe.

"What do you want to do, Ariel?" asked Alana.

"Whosits!" Ariel chirped.

All she really wanted to do was carry on with their thingamabob search, though now they were dubbed whosits and found in the sand. It wasn't until Ariel presented Alana with what felt like the billionth button that she realised how tired she was. Adrina had noticed this and decided to take matters into her own hands.

"Hey Ariel!" she called, getting the younger girls attention, "Why don't we go look at the surface? We could see the moon!"

"Yeah!" Ariel cried with enthusiasm. Adrina took her by the hand and lead her up to the surface, with Arista and Alana following behind them. One by one their heads popped out of the water, their wet hair glistening in the moonlight.

It was beautiful. The moon was full, illuminating the world in a luminous, white glow, and the stars that dotted the sky shined like little candles in the darkness. Even Ariel was quiet as they witnessed its beauty, and all traces of exhaustion had vanished from Alana's face. It almost made them forget the predicament they were in.

"It's getting late," Arista murmured, eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

"We should probably head back." Alana couldn't take her eyes off the moon.

"I don't wanna…" Ariel murmured, though her eyes were starting to droop.

That was confirmation of bedtime. Though they could stay out there all night, the girls sunk back down underwater. They were chatting amongst themselves when Ariel pointed out something odd.

"What's that?" she asked, and her sisters turned to look at what Ariel had seen.

It was a boat. A fishing boat. With a net.

"We need to get out of here," Alana declared, but as soon as she did they were suddenly surrounded by rope and netting.

Ariel started to screech as the net closed around them, cramping the girls into a very small space. Arista clamped her hand over Ariel's mouth to get her to be quiet, but her whimpering was plain enough.

"What do we do?" Adrina started to squirm as the net began to rise up and out of the water.

A rope was digging deeply into Alana's tail, rubbing the scales raw. The net rose above the water, bringing the sisters back into the moonlit world of above. Though now it seemed dark and ominous than light and luminous. As the net was raised higher they got a good look at the boat they were about to be dropped on.

On it were a bunch of sailors. Their jaws dropped when they saw what they'd caught, because what they'd thought was a particularly good haul of fish was just four frightened mermaids. Almost as soon as they laid eyes on the men, Arista had an idea.

"Alana, your crown!" she cried.

"Oh?" Alana asked, raising her hand (with difficulty) to touch the spiky points of her crown.

The spiky points of her crown… Of course!

Alana pulled the crown off of her head, taking some dark strands of hair with it. She started to saw away at the rope, picking up the pace as the net was drawn closer to the boat. Suddenly the rope came away, breaking the net and sending the girls tumbling back into the water. As they fell, Alana felt her crown connect with someone's skin and she winced. If that was Ariel she'd better prepare herself for more crying…

They fell into the water with a splash, sending a small ripple across the surface. Soon enough Alana discovered that her prediction was correct because Ariel's crying started to fill the ocean.

"What's wrong now?" Arista moaned as Adrina swam over to look after her sister.

"She's cut herself somehow…" Adrina frowned, starting to clean Ariel's cut.

"I think I got her with my crown," Alana explained, "Sorry Ariel."

"Meanie…" Ariel whimpered.

"We'll just get her fixed up at home," concluded Adrina.

Arista nodded and let herself float down towards Atlantica. But she landed sooner than she expected, and it didn't feel like sand… Arista looked down. No, it really wasn't sand she'd landed on – it was the shark from before!

It must have smelled Ariel's blood and been attracted to them, waiting for them to give it their attention. Arista gulped as the shark seemed to smile up at her, and then she started to scream.

Alana, Adrina, and Ariel looked down to see what all the commotion was. When they saw the shark they started to scream as well. The shark gave chase, sending Arista careening through the water. As she floated through uncontrollably, she noticed a small opening in one of the nearby caves that would be big enough for the four of them, but not the shark.

"Over here guys!" she yelped, and after making sure the others knew where she was pointing, she zoomed towards it.

Alana made sure Ariel was between her and Arista so she knew where she was going, but not in immediate danger. Poor Adrina was behind them, screaming her head off as the shark snapped at her fins.

Arista darted into the opening and extended her hand to Ariel. The younger mermaid grabbed hold of it and Arista yanked her inside. Alana soon followed, then Adrina came in last. The shark stuffed it's snout into the whole, trying it's best to bite at them but to no avail.

Adrina was still screaming, Ariel was still crying, and Alana was trying her best to calm them down. Arista plugged her ears with her fingers and prayed for it to be over.

* * *

"You're sure this is the place?" Attina asked, and Aquata nodded.

The two mermaids were floating amongst the dense seaweed forest where Aquata had previously met Ursula and her eels.

"If I remember right, then this should be the place where Flotsam and Jetsam were waiting." Aquata looked around for the slimy creatures.

"I doubt they'd be in the same place after all that time," said Attina with a hand on her hip.

As if on cue, something moist brushed against Attina's arm. She swallowed a scream, looking around frantically. "Did you feel that?"

Aquata nodded. "I think that's them."

Surely enough, Flotsam and Jetsam emerged from the thick of the seaweed forest. Smiling their sly smiles, they swam towards the girls and almost tied themselves around their wrists. Attina squirmed at their touch, and Aquata didn't look too comfortable either. The eels pulled themselves through the dark forest, and finally to the familiar lair of Ursula.

Flotsam and Jetsam let go of them then, and after exchanging a look of encouragement, the girls swam in. Aquata found the cave oddly familiar despite only ever being there once before. She recognised Ursula's shadow against the wall, stark and black against the golden light emitting from her room. They entered her room, and the sea witch gave them a wry smile.

"Well hello! I didn't think I'd be seeing you in a very long time," she said, floating heavily towards them.

She went to wrap a slick tentacle around Attina's waist, but she ducked out of the way. "We're not here on a social visit."

Ursula pouted. "What a shame. What is it then?" She returned to her seat.

"Aquata told me that you gave her a stone that makes people young," Attina started, and Ursula nodded. "We've come for something to reverse its effects."

"So you want the Elder Stone?"

"If that's what it's called."

Ursula paused, thinking. Then, with a scheming smile, she floated lazily back towards Attina. "How about I offer you an ultimatum?"

"Go ahead," Attina replied, and Ursula looked her in the eyes with a mischievous smile.

"How about… The Elder Stone in exchange for control over Atlantica?"


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n: Sorry for the lack of updates last week! I had the flu and I felt that if I wrote something it would be complete nonsense! So I decided to hold off until I was better, and I am, so things will be uploaded this week as usual! Sorry for the delay, but now for the part that you came for - the story! Enjoy!**

* * *

Ursula paused, thinking. Then, with a scheming smile, she floated lazily back towards Attina. "How about I offer you an ultimatum?"

"Go ahead," Attina replied, and Ursula looked her in the eyes with a mischievous smile.

"How about… The Elder Stone in exchange for control over Atlantica?"

Attina took a double take, flabbergasted at the sea witch's offer. Ursula? Controlling Atlantica? Who did she think she was, asking for something like that…? It was utterly ridiculous.

"I can't do that," she responded, and Ursula didn't look surprised – just mildly annoyed.

"Well…" she sighed, gliding back into her chair, "I suppose I should've seen that one coming…"

Suddenly her look of frustration turned into a mischievous one, and her mouth turned from a frown to a coy smile. She sat up a little straighter, looking Attina straight in the eye. "Why don't I ask you again? You get the Elder Stone, and I get control over Atlantica."

"I told you I couldn't do that," Attina protested, but almost as soon as the words left her mouth one of Ursula's tentacles launched out and grabbed onto her slim waist, gripping it tightly. Attina cried out, struggling against Ursula's grip.

The sea witch only squeezed tighter, and Attina only screamed louder. She drew Attina close to her, so much so that their faces we almost touching.

"What do I have to do to you to get you to obey me…?"

Aquata knew that she had to do something to save her sister, but what? Could she distract her somehow? Her eyes darted around the room looking for a way to help Attina. Her gaze fell on a doorway that she recognised from her first visit to Ursula's lair. It was the entrance to Ursula's stash – the place she got the Youth Stone from!

If she'd got the Youth Stone from there, then surely the Elder stone must be in there too. If she found it she could distract Ursula with it and divert the attention towards her, making her let Attina go, and then the two could escape! It was the best plan she could think of, so Aquata acted on it.

She hated to leave Attina alone, but it was her only choice. She dove down into the stash and almost instantly started digging around for the stone. It was then that she realised that she hadn't the slightest idea what it looked like…

"It's gotta look like the Youth Stone, right?" she mumbled under her breath, tossing various treasures in favour for any stones that looked remotely similar to the Youth Stone.

"Where's the other brat?" she heard Ursula's voice thundering from the other room, and Aquata froze in her tracks, "Flotsam! Jetsam! Go find her now!"

Now Aquata was searching even faster before. She found several rocks and stones, but none of them looked anything like the Youth Stone. She heard Flotsam and Jetsam swim in, and when she turned to face them they were already charging towards her. With a yelp, Aquata dodged out of the way, knocking into another pile of treasures. The two eels crashed into the pile she was just searching for, sending the objects careening into the air.

Of the objects that were dislodged, Aquata's eyes fell on one of them in particular. It was a small, smooth, dark blue stone with light blue lines scored across it. It looked so much like the Youth Stone it could be the Elder Stone! She needed to get her hands on it as soon as possible, but Flotsam and Jetsam had noticed it too. They were circling it, keeping it as close to them as possible. They were sneering at her, a gesture that only made Aquata more determined to get it from them.

Without looking, Aquata grabbed onto to objects beside her. One was a smooth gold trophy decorated with a muscular looking man, and the other was a small, broken, marble statue of a cherub with a harp engraved with precious gems. They looked solid enough to use as weapons…

"Give me that stone!" she cried as she charged through the water, her makeshift weapons clutched tightly in her hands.

She smacked Flotsam away with the trophy, sending the eel flying across the room and colliding with the wall in a cloud of dust. Jetsam lurched towards her, but before he could attack her Aquata brought the statue down on the eels head. Jetsam went tumbling down into the sand, leaving the stone free floating and unprotected. Aquata grabbed hold of the cold stone and held it tight.

 _If Flotsam and Jetsam were trying so hard to protect it, then it must be the Elder Stone!_

Stone in hand, Aquata darted out the doorway and into the main room where Attina remained held in Ursula's grasp. She'd fallen unconscious, and Ursula's lavender skin tone and flushed to a deep plum colour.

"How did you get that?" she asked menacingly when she laid eyes on Aquata and the stone.

"I found it," she told her, folding her arms triumphantly, "Now give me back my sister."

Instead of responding verbally, Ursula sent another one of her tentacles towards Aquata, but the young mermaid jumped out of the way before she could be grabbed. She darted towards Attina, putting her arms underneath hers and trying to pull her out of Ursula's grasp. But it was hopeless – the witch kept on squeezing.

"If you carry on like that I'll crush her." Ursula sneered, putting emphasis on "crush."

Aquata faltered, loosening her grip on her now pale sister. She couldn't let Attina die like this way… She was about to give up when she saw Flotsam and Jetsam emerging from the stash looking somewhat dazed but just as angry. Another idea popped into her head.

"Flotsam! Jetsam! Over here!" she called, getting the eels attention.

They started after her, but Aquata started to swim around the room, always making sure they were still on her tail. Ursula looked around in bewilderment as she went, loosening her grip on Attina. Confident that they were going to follow her no matter what, Aquata sped towards Ursula. She grabbed onto one of her tentacles, waiting for Flotsam and Jetsam to approach.

Ursula swatted at her, trying to bat her away. But Aquata didn't budge. The eels came speeding towards her, and soon they had reached Ursula's tentacle. As soon as they started to zap her, Aquata let go and swam away, letting the eels electrify their own master.

Ursula howled in pain, letting Attina go. The shock had jolted Attina awake, and she hovered in the water gasping for breath. Not wanting to waste any time, Aquata grabbed her sister by the arm.

"Let's get out of here," she said, and Attina nodded.

The two sisters escaped before Ursula could recover. Rubbing her fingers over the Elder Stone, Aquata lead her and Attina back to the safety of Atlantica.

* * *

Ariel had long since stopped crying and was now sleeping softly in Adrina's arms, though Adrina was still whimpering in fear. The four of them had been stuck in the cramped hideaway for twenty minutes yet the sharks still showed no signs of leaving. Its snout was still firmly shoved into the hole, and Arista was starting to wonder if it was still trying to eat them or if it was just stuck.

"Do you think there's any way we can get rid of it?" asked Arista.

"I don't know…" Alana sighed, "I just hope Aquata and Attina get back in time to help us."

"They should do. Even if those two don't find us I doubt no one's going to notice the giant shark stuck in the wall."

Alana giggled, but a sudden bite from the shark jolted them all into a scream. The four girls moved further towards the back of the small cavern, just to be safe.

The shark stayed there for another twenty minutes. It came as a surprise to all the girls when suddenly it cried out and dislodged it's snout from the wall. Alana handed the still sleeping Ariel over to Adrina and poked her head out of the hole. A smile broke out on her face when she saw Attina and Aquata wielding rocks and chucking them at the shark.

"It's Aquata and Attina!" she cried out, swimming out of the cramped hole they'd called home for the past forty minutes.

The other sisters followed, including Ariel, who had just woken up.

"You took your time!" Adrina laughed, earning her a frown from Aquata.

"Well, it's not like we fought off a sea witch or anything." She pouted.

"We can tell stories later. Right now we need to get Ariel back to the way she was before Father gets back," Attina announced, and the girls nodded in unison.

* * *

Aquata glared at the Elder Stone in frustration. They'd all tried saying an incantation to see if would work, yet to no avail. Ariel was still a six-year-old and showing no sign of changing. She was also starting to play with the stone, which was distracting.

"There must be something we can do," Alana said, who was touching up her nails.

"If there is we've tried it," Aquata complained.

Adrina looked deep in thought. "What if you try something similar to the Youth Stone incantation? Swap a few words around or something."

"That could work," Attina agreed, looking to Aquata.

Aquata shrugged. "I guess that could work."

She glanced at the stone, remembering the Youth Stone incantation. _Stone of beauteous youth, hide my age's truth._ What words would she switch anyway?

"Uhh… _Stone of ugly… uh, oldness… show my age's lies_?" She flushed at her failed attempt and tried to ignore Arista's face palm.

"What about _stone of beauteous age, show my age's truth_?" Alana suggested, but still, there was no reaction.

"I think I've got one," said Attina, and she approached the Ariel. " _Stone of grace and years, show my age's truth."_

As Attina said the words, the stone began to glow a bright sky blue. The glow from the stone transferred towards Ariel, and the little mermaid looked at herself in wonder as she was enveloped by the blue light. She began to grow, her red hair and tail growing longer.

Soon she was nothing but a ball of blue light, and her sisters waited in anticipation as the light slowly started to fade. As the light disappeared, it revealed Ariel. She was just the same as she always had been – a sixteen-year-old mermaid. She looked around at her body in wonder and then beamed at her sisters.

"Thanks you guys! I thought I was gonna be a six-year-old forever!"

When Adella returned from her date she was rather confused as to why all her sisters were exhausted, zombies. They claimed they'd stayed up all night talking, which was technically true, but they left many gaps in their story. When Triton met with them for breakfast he was just as confused as Adella, but they just told him the same thing.

It was as though nothing had ever happened - and as far as Adella and Triton were concerned - nothing ever did.

* * *

 **a/n: Hello, I'm back again! So that was the end of Stone of Beauteous Youth, so I hope it lived up to your expectations! I really hope you all liked it (especially retromania since you requested it!). I had a lot of fun writing it, so I hope you had fun reading it. Well, that's all from me today - see you later!**


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